Announcing

Dominion, which already had some trading appetizers on the table, is taking a bigger bite of the dotcom marketplace, announcing last week that its Dominion Energy Clearinghouse will offer a one-stop shop customized for its wholesale customers to price and buy energy commodities.

Dominion, which already had some trading appetizers on thetable, is taking a bigger bite of the dotcom marketplace,announcing yesterday that its Dominion Energy Clearinghouse willoffer a one-stop shop customized for its wholesale customers toprice and buy energy commodities.

British-based energy and home services company Centrica plccompleted its acquisition of coveted Energy America LLC this week,announcing it will take full ownership and management control ofthe gas and electricity marketer that serves nearly 400,000 U.S.residential and small business customers. Centrica, which claimedits first stake last summer, picked up the outstanding 73.5% stakeheld by Sempra Energy for $56 million in cash.

Conoco Inc. enhanced its natural gas portfolio last week,announcing an agreement to acquire LG&E Energy Corp.’s naturalgas gathering and processing business assets in New Mexico, Texas,Oklahoma and Montana. The deal will make Conoco the second largestnatural gas gatherer in the region, more than doubling its capacityin southeast New Mexico and improving its processing capacity inthe region by 42%.

Independent Cross Timbers Oil Co. is punching up its explorationand production plans in East Texas, announcing an agreement topurchase some of Herd Producing Co.’s gas producing properties inEast Texas and Louisiana for $115 million. The deal includes 500potential drilling locations, with average gross reserve targets of3.5 (2.4 net) Bcf, holding a total resource potential of more than1.2 Tcf.

Independent Cross Timbers Oil Co. is punching up its explorationand production plans in East Texas, announcing an agreement topurchase some of Herd Producing Co.’s gas producing properties inEast Texas and Louisiana for $115 million. The deal includes 500potential drilling locations, with average gross reserve targets of3.5 (2.4 net) Bcf, holding a total resource potential of more than1.2 Tcf.

Conoco Inc. enhanced its natural gas portfolio yesterday,announcing an agreement to acquire LG&E Energy Corp.’s naturalgas gathering and processing business assets in New Mexico, Texas,Oklahoma and Montana. The deal will make Conoco the second largestnatural gas gatherer in the region, more than doubling its capacityin southeast New Mexico and improving its processing capacity inthe region by 42%.

Houston-based Pogo Producing Co. added to its natural gas assetbase last week, announcing it will acquire cross-town rival NoricCorp. for $750 million in cash and debt, upping its reserve base by63% and increasing its projected annual 2000 production by 35% —with most of the new assets in natural gas fields in Texas,Louisiana and the Rocky Mountains. Noric is the parent corporationof North Central Oil Corp.

In announcing a 46% increase in third quarter profits led by adoubling of earnings from the company’s nonregulated operations, ElPaso CEO William Wise said last week he expected the company’sacquisition of PG&E Gas Transmission Texas to win finalapprovals from the Federal Trade Commission and the Texas AttorneyGeneral’s office “literally any moment now.” He also said theCoastal merger still is expected to be completed in the fourthquarter.